Forums » RP Discussion » Teach me about nephilim

Heya, RPRians! This probably really appeals more to the religious/folklore buffs around here, but anyone's welcome to share whatever nuggets or troves of knowledge they may have.

Because I need knowledge. I have this older character who is the offspring of a demon and a half-angel. Gasp, the cliche! The horror! C'mon, get it out of your system, please, I still need facts.

While I'm semi-knowledgeable about angels, demons, and creatures mistaken or labeled as them in religion and folklore, I'm afraid I don't know a terrible lot about nephilim themselves and how the mother of this character being one factors into what I label the offspring. Is my character technically a nephilim too? Would her offspring be nephilim too? If not, is there a less wordy term than "demon-angel-human hybrid" I can officially use? Also sometimes I've read that nephilim in fiction are labeled as some mix of angels & demons (sometimes the dreaded hybrid of both and humans too!), which I'm sure conflicts with the Bible and is just artistic license on the part of the creator/artist--is that conflict significant, is it wrong to use it, is it okay to use it, &c?

And is there anything else I should know? I remember that nephilim get at least two mentions (Genesis and... some other Old Testament book, I forgot which), and that's pretty much the extent of it. Are they mentioned in scholarly demonology or angelology sources, if that exists for angels?

I just reeeaaaally need to learn things and get opinions but I'm stuck because my own knowledge is lacking, even with Google around. Plus it generates a discussion. Yay!

I believe nephilim are only the offspring of angels and humans.

Nephalem are the ones I think you're looking for, as the offspring of angels and demons. And as I'm presently at work, that's about the extent of what I can offer at the present moment. ;;

I think part of the reason Nephilim are such hot topics in modern fiction is because the original texts are incredibly vague and interpretive. The only details we get from Biblical sources are that they were "Sons of God", and that they were mighty and powerful beings.

Even scholars seem to disagree on the meaning of "Sons of God", with some arguing that the same term is later used to describe Angels, whereas other believe that this is to do with Seth and the righteous antediluvians. Most interpretations describe them usually as either angels themselves or the result of angel/human relationships.

Basically, it seems like you have a lot of free reign. Pop culture has tried all sorts of stuff. Exodus mentions Nephalem, which I believe was the creation of Blizzard Entertainment for the Diablo series, and they are similar to what you're talking about.

@Exodus - I looked that up after I read your post yesterday, because I don't play Diablo and don't really know a bunch about the setting! That does sound like what I'm looking for, excluding the fact that I don't want to snatch up a franchise's terminology and canon. Good find though, thank you! That is nailin' the nail upon the head--Darksiders does a sort of similar thing, though I don't have all the details; Nephilim is the term used for some sort of angel/demon mix in that series. Not sure if offspring or something else though, I haven't gotten that far yet in my game.

@Bloopit - What you've relayed is about as much as I know, so it sounds like I'm stuck right where I started, ehehe. Having free reign though is a bit freeing; I'm already pretty loose with what my own worldbuilding considers angelic or demonic (they're more like itty bitty cosmic abominations that may or may not be pieces of the local gods, who in turn are pieces of a much bigger, vague all-powerful-beginning-and-end god), so maybe I can play around with what I know about Nephilim and what my worldbuilding project considers to be an angel or a demon. Hmm...

I read a couple of romance books that mentioned Nephilim in them. I don't remember the names of the books in question, but there was an interesting detail that the author used that might interest you.

Basically in this author's work, Nephillim were immortal and their entire lives were meant to be nothing more then suffering as penance for the sins of the angel parent for conceiving them. Not sure if you will want to use this idea, but I thought I might as well mention it.

Another one series mentiiong Nephilim had it that most Nephilim don't have wings and the more generations that pass between the angel ancestor, the more watered down their powers got. Finally it's hinted that these Nephilim were not immortal, though I believed they lived longer then normal humans.

Also this might be of interest to you.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nephilim

I recently read The Genesis Record and the authors belief was that the nephilim were born as a result of human women having relations with demons. There is no record in the Bible of angels having relations with women; sex is the province of marriage so for an angel to do so would be in violation of God's will thus making it a demon. From a strictly religious point of view it raises all sorts of quandries however where original sin is concerned. Were such creatures 'human'? His take was that they were born demonically possessed though I'm assuming you're looking for something more fantasy based like the half-fiends and half-celestials that D&D/Pathfinder have given. Granted I'm only relating a strict interpretation as I know it; I haven't read books about demonology or angelology and tend to take such sources with extreme skepticism. Another place to research might be Jewish oral tradition as it often has information in it that's not relayed in official texts. Ultimately, if you want to know more about 'real' nephilim, I would recommend speaking with spiritual leaders. For an RP however I'd just say mix and match... take what elements you like and incorporate them. Heck, some people think that the nephilim were aliens!

Callista is such an example; she's highly fantasy tweaked but plays on themes of consequence and Faustian bargains so she's also meant to be metaphorical in many ways. How well that comes across is probably subject to debate as I'm far from a professional writer. At any rate, I hope this helped, and if not I hoped you enjoyed reading it at least!

I've already read the TV Tropes page regarding them, but it relayed 'bout the same amount of info that I already knew.

On the other hand, y'all are definitely citing sources and pieces I'm unfamiliar with, and that's awesome 'cause I like followin' leads and sources. I'm not really looking to rework the character herself to fit into proper lore or speculation--that would require me to rework the entire character, which is 100% out of the question for me, so I'm sticking firmly with fantastical elements moreso than 100% proper canon. She has been around too long and has too many stories surrounding her for an overhaul! What I'm mostly seeking is new information (which I'm getting, yaaay! ) and whether it's appropriate to refer to her as a nephilim.

But given the vagueness of nephilim, the latter issue may not be that big of an issue in the end--for me, anyway, I know some folks get a bit antsy about how someone else labels/names their characters. Myself included!